Safety Factor

Bumping into an old tour mate and uttering a single word can recall a whole slew of events about a day, venue, person or even an entire tour. This shorthand form of communication develops out of the day-to-day way efficient and expeditious crews talk to one another as a tour progresses.

Orlando, Florida is a town built on crowds, a sea of humanity in juxtaposition with what would otherwise be a lush Jurassic world. Considered the “theme park capital of the world,” the area is home to such family-friendly attractions as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. It’s also home to the mammoth campus of the University of Central Florida and is an outpost of the ever-expanding Electric Daisy Carnival empire. The area also has the less-inviting distinction of being the “lightning capital of the United States,” with an astounding 1.4 million lightning strikes resulting in an average of 10 deaths and 30 injuries annually.

Even if Oscar Wilde did once say “Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative,” we all still love to talk about the weather. And, sooner or later, we will all have to do a show outside, or at the very least in a tent.

Anyone who has ever worked an outdoor show seems to have a story to share about how the weather almost defeated them. My go-to tale happened at a casino just outside of Omaha, NE. It was one of those sticky, late-July days when humidity hung heavy in the air. Doors were set for 4 pm, but by 3:30, anxious audience members had already abandoned the comfortable temperature of the casino to gather at the entrance of the large general admissions field we called our office that day.

The show must go on. In rare cases it doesn’t, of course, because of an act of nature or man, but Show Distribution, based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, has taken a stance with zero tolerance for equipment failures. So when the company chose a modular connector to do the job of three single-purpose connectors on the controllers of a new high-speed servo hoist, it put the new connector through a torture test of sorts.

In what began as a conversation involving concerned live event professionals the month after the Indiana State Fair stage collapse in August 2011, the Event Safety Alliance (ESA) is expanding its influence over event safety in North America. As it celebrates its unofficial third year this month (it incorporated in February of 2012), the ESA has made solid progress in their quest to align the industry with best practices in live event safety guidelines. A four-day training session, a new strategic partnership, a new headquarters, and The Event Safety Guide are some of their recent accomplishments.

It’s spring, and that means the start of severe weather season, and also the time when many of us in show business start working on outdoor shows. I’ve done a lot of outdoor shows, and I’m also a storm chaser and weather geek, so when I’m on an outdoor show site, I’m often running real-time radar on my laptop in addition to my sound system alignment software.

Not sure about getting lased for the first time? If you haven’t been sat down for “the talk,” you’re likely confused about the paperwork and procedures needed to include laser special effects in your production. Even the most seasoned professionals may have inaccurate laser information from word-of-mouth. What works for lasers in New York City might not in London, Melbourne or the state of Arizona. Here is an overview of factors that laserists, lighting designers and others need to consider when staging shows and touring with laser effects.

Safety is a huge concern for the live event production industry. This article focuses on a critical component: Inspecting truss. Aluminum truss is widely used in a multitude of applications, from theatre to concerts to exhibitions to outdoor structures.  It is purpose-built for very specific loads. Because of that purpose-built aspect, truss doesn’t fit into the usual realm of safety factors that entertainment industry veterans reference for other rigging hardware like shackles, wire rope or hoists.  Therefore, considering that the truss can be one of the most crucial components of a rigging system, it is imperative that there are assurances it is in the proper condition for use.